


The Next City

by Leaves_Crown



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-21
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2017-12-05 23:18:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 21,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/729036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leaves_Crown/pseuds/Leaves_Crown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With a new threat hanging over the city, Rufus and Tifa cooperate to protect it.</p><p>As life gets more dangerous, Rufus also has to hide a new emotion: love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not That Bar

**Author's Note:**

> This is my favorite pairing for Final Fantasy VII. It's one of the few series in which I like the het beter than the yaoi, but it's of course still a niche pairing. 
> 
> I hope you will enjoy this.

Neon lights, old techno tunes and some tradesmen playing cards in a dark corner. 

Perhaps something made this bar special, had made it a target, but Rufus hadn't figured out what it could be yet. 

"Anything?" A girl with the same red hair as the older bartender behind the counter approached his table. 

"You have a wine list?"

He could tell she tried to suppress a smile and was immediately glad he hadn't asked for champagne or expensive vodka. 

"Beer is okay too?" she challenged. 

"Sure," he smiled back at her sarcastic smile. If he really wanted to blend in, he should be more careful with what he ordered. 

The beer was from Junon, one of the cheap brands. Rufus hid his distaste and glanced around the bar. Only a week ago two women had been abducted from this place. One had been a street worker, the other her cousin from out of town. Witnesses had described a sudden darkness descending in the bar, screaming and a sudden flash of light. When their eyes had adjusted to the normal lights of the bar, the two women had been gone. 

There had been whispers before of disappearing women; those living on the fringes of society, but those had been explained away by the rising violence of the times. This was something else all together.

The door opened and in swept a young woman. Apart from the bartender, she was the only woman in the bar. Rufus wondered if she was from out of town as well, and therefore didn’t know what had happened last Saturday.

She moved a bit too circumspect for that though. Her lithe movement different from that of a prostitute or a party girl. She took place at the bar, crossing her legs. They were long, visible under that tiny purple dress she was wearing. His glance traveled over the rest of her body, very feminine. 

Ah, he wouldn’t mind…

Remembering why he had come to this bar, he decided to go over. He took place at a stool two seats away from hers and ordered a brandy. 

“And might I offer the lady something as well?”

She turned towards him, showing the face underneath the heavy make-up. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. 

“Shinra!”

As he was not as surprised to find her there as the other way around, he was rather amused. “But I know you already.”

The bartender still waited, but Tifa gave her a dismissive wave. “A beer, on my own account.”

The red head raised her eyebrows, but turned around to get the drinks. 

Tifa stood up and took place on the seat next to him. Her glare would have scared most people, but he just looked back with faint curiosity. 

“You’re involved, aren’t you?”

“In what?” He took the brandy from the bartender. “Thank you.”

She leaned a little closer and lowered her voice. “In the kidnapping."

“Wrong.”

A bitter laugh escaped her. “You just came here for the drinks and company?”

“As lovely as both of these are at present, I have to disappoint you. I probably came here for the same reason you did.”

“To investigate?” Her drink was served, but she ignored it. Instead she clenched her fists. “You really think I believe that? No, as long as Shinra lives, there will be destruction and death.”

“And you and your friends will stop us, correct? With your own brand of destruction and death.”

She looked a little taken aback by what he had said. Only now she noticed her drink and took a little sip, before saying sharply, “greed was never our motivation.”

“Neither was it mine.”

Another pause, during which she studied him for a moment. “What are you doing here?”

“Like I said…”

“You investigate this yourself, instead of sending one of your cronies. Why?”

“As president I should set the right example and put myself in harm’s way from time to time,” he said, with a mock-serious face.

She rolled her eyes. “They should have warned you that wearing those shoes,” and she nodded at them, “make it very clear you’re not from around here.”

“Indeed?” He looked at them with feigned interest. “I must thank you for your advice. Might I provide you with some in return?”

She shrugged her shoulders and took a big gulp of her beer. 

“You’d better think of another cover, you could never pass as a prostitute no matter how much mascara you put on.”

Her lips parted, as if she was going to ask him a question, but then she threatened, “If you are kidnapping women, we’ll have the people screaming for your blood.”

“That power you wield now?”

Her eyes locked with his. “Yeah, we do.”

“Then I shall quickly make my exit, the power of the people has always frightened me.” He made an elaborate bow, dropped some money for the bartender and left the bar.


	2. Miss Kisaragi

A crowd had gathered around Rufus in one of the poorer districts of Edge. The people seemed agitated, discontent and in a few cases addicted. Rufus met their angry eyes with a sense of calm. The make-shift stage was a little rickety, but that fitted their image as a company for the people. He took the microphone and smiled benignly at his audience. 

“We of the Shinra Company are most grateful of your renewed trust in us.” 

He quickly continued, so that people would not have time to question whether this trust was really there. “It is therefore our delight to give something back to the community. In this clinic everyone of this district will be welcome for a warm meal and to have themselves checked. It is always better to find risks to our health early, as I have also found to my grief.” 

He paused for a second or two, allowing everyone to remember he had suffered from the geo-stigma like so many in the crowd. “Now, without further ado…”

A beautiful blonde in a red dress handed him the scissors and he cut the ribbon right through the middle. There was an eruption of cheers and applause, and Rufus waved as one of the two doctors he had put in charge of the clinic made a short speech. 

He let his gaze travel over the crowd. People were talking excitedly, hardly any skeptical faces. Unlike the middle classes, people like these could be counted upon to back whoever took care of him, without feeling resentment. 

The blonde woman was smiling at him invitingly. She was indeed beautiful, as the casting agency had promised. It had been quite a while since he had been with a woman, perhaps he could…

His attention was grabbed by a movement in the corner of his eye. A shadow had flitted across the building opposite him. Instinctively, he checked for his gun.   
Reno was holding up his hand from afar, signaling something was wrong. Rufus started walking in his direction, when he once again felt the shadow moving.

Tseng was next to him then. “We should leave.”

Rufus nodded at those few in the crowd who still watched him and walked away on at a steady pace. Even though he was eager to know who was stalking them, this would be the worst place for a fight. Shinra should not seek confrontation now. 

Reno led him to the car. “Elena and Rude are on it.”

“Drive out of the city.”

“Sir?” 

“You heard me.” Rufus raised an eyebrow when he saw Reno wanted to make an objection. “We shall lure her out.”

“Her?”

Rufus did not explain and sat down in the back. They sped off. Reno was the most reckless driver he had ever met, but he had somehow never been in an accident before. Rufus was therefore more concerned about image-problems as the Shinra-car thundered through the city than his own safety. 

The road leading out of Eastern Edge was badly tended to. The car shook when it hit holes even Reno couldn’t avoid. 

“Stop,” Rufus held his hand against the seat in front of him, to avoid flying forward. 

He opened the door himself and got out, waving at the trees behind them. “You can come out now.”

There was a rustle in one of the trees. Reno aimed his gun, but Rufus put his arm down. “No.”

She jumped out, landing on her feet only yards away from them. There was a smirk, but her eyes spoke of hatred. 

“Miss Kisaragi, it’s been a while.”

“Shinra…” she acknowledged. 

“How can I be of service to you?”

Kisaragi put her hands on her hips. “What do you want with my materia?”

“I can assure you that I have no interest in your personal possessions,” Rufus said. 

“No?” she raised an eyebrow. “Then why am I followed by one of your lackeys?”

“I can assure you that whoever follows you, is not one of my associates.”  
Elena and Rude appeared behind her. She glanced back, but did not draw her weapon, even though she was surrounded.

“You’re late,” Rufus stated. 

“My apologies, sir!” Elena looked nervously from Rufus to the ninja. “She’s very fast.”

“So, you got me trapped,” Kisaragi mocked. “What are you going to do now?”

“You just listen to what the president’s got to say.” Reno did a step in her direction. “Quiet.”

The girl drew her weapon in a split second, the Turks following suit immediately. 

“You’re outnumbered!” Elena also closed in on her. “It’s three to…”

A lightening-bolt crashed in. Elena screamed, dropped to the muddy ground on hands and knees. 

Reno jumped forward but was thrown back by a shield force and barely landed on his feet. 

Kisaragi was laughing. Cleary she wasn’t the one using magic. Another figure appeared from behind the bushes. 

“Three against two. No big deal.”

Rude swallowed when he saw Tifa standing there. Rufus glanced at him for a second, before turning to face her.

“And we meet again.” He raised his arm to prevent Reno from turning it into a fight. “Might I enquire as to why you are following us?”

“I wasn’t.” Tifa looked at the amused ninja. “But we look out for each other if necessary.”

“Ah, yes. The famed loyalty of Avalanche.”

“You are still ‘investigating’ the case, aren’t you?” Tifa said. 

He nodded. 

“Found out anything new?”

“I thought you were convinced I was behind it,” Rufus said. 

“Oh, I don’t entirely rule you out yet.”

“But…”

“But…” She glanced back when she heard Elena mutter a clear ‘bitch’, but then ignored her. “But it wouldn’t make sense for you to go after women like that. You have grander plans.”

He smiled as if she had given him a compliment. “You are quite right.”

“Anyway, what did you find?”

“Oh, a few things. I have many resources.”

“Same here,” she said, shrewdly. “Different ones from yours, though.”

“So, would you suggest…” he trailed off, wanting her to make the suggestion.

Tifa sighed. “We should work together… right?”

He let out a short laugh at her expression of wonder at the notion.

Kisaragi’s smile, in contrast, had disappeared. “Tifa, are you crazy? They are just after our materia!”

“Young lady, I am positive that the materia in my possession far surpasses your own.”

“No way! That…” Suddenly she became quiet and just stared at him with interest.

Tifa interrupted, placing herself in between them. “Let’s meet up tonight and share what we know.”

“Agreed. Do you know how to find my office?”

“Of course, but that’s not where we meeting.” She gave him a little smirk. “My bar is in the entertainment district. But you probably already know that.”

“I might.” he answered her amusement with an unconcerned smile. “I’ll see you there at nine?”

“Fine.” She turned to her friend. “Let’s go, Yuffie.”


	3. Civil Conversation

At one minute before nine, he stood in front of the bar. The neon-lights were less obnoxious than those of all the other bars he had driven by. People probably knew how to find the way to Lockheart’s bar anyway. One of the things in Shinra’s files about her was that she was an expert mixer.

There were a few customers around the tables and Tifa was counting money in full view. Of course. No sane person would dare try to steal from her. She was wearing simple pants and a yellow tank-top now, her hair in a careless bun.

“Good evening.”

She looked up and gave him a reluctant nod. “Drink?”

“What’s your specialty?” he asked, taking off his coat. 

Without answering the question, she took a few bottles from the rack behind her. He watched her as she rinsed a broad glass and started working on the drink. 

“Ice?” she asked him. 

“No thanks, I’d like to just enjoy the flavor.”

She shot him a short glance at that. He knew she would secretly appreciate that answer. “You want to talk here?”

“No, we’ll…” she opened the last bottle with some effort. She looked behind her as a familiar looking girl entered from the back. “Marlene, would you look after the bar for a bit?”

“Sure.” Clearly Tifa had warned her he would be coming, because the girl only looked suspicious, not surprised. 

Tifa took his drink and gestured for him to follow her to a little hall behind the bar. There were a few doors leading to other rooms, all closed. She opened one that led to a tiny office and took a pile of papers from one of the two plastic chairs, placing it on the floor.

“Have a seat.”

He took the offered chair and waited until she had placed the drink on the desk. 

“Thank you.”

Again she nodded curtly. “So, what do you know?”

“I have your word that you will also provide me with information after I have given up mine?”

“Of course.”  
He took a sip from his drink. The flavor was sour, with a hint of sweetness. His whole body warmed up as he swallowed. It was difficult not showing his delight. She looked curious as he put his glass down. 

“One of the women washed up on the Junon coast. It is not clear what killed her, but she didn’t drown.”

“No wounds?” Tifa finally sat down opposite him. “Poison?”

“Or a spell. It doesn’t seem like the regular lightening or ice related materia hit her though.”

“I will ask Yuffie about it later,” she said. “Got any pictures?”

He opened his case and took out an envelope. “From the autopsy.”

“Odd,” she said, while browsing through them. “One eye is closed, but the other seems to bulge out of her socket.”

“Yes, that was the only peculiar thing my people found.”

“Hmmm.” She finally placed the photos on the desk. “Anything else?”

“Something came in after our meeting earlier. Tseng found it.” He reached into his pocket and showed her a shriveled up stone. 

“What’s that?” Her finger brushed against it as she took it from him. “Hey, it looks like…”

“It’s exhausted materia. We found it on the road to Kalm.”

She held it right in front of her eyes. “Exhausted? That’s impossible.”

“I’m afraid it’s not. One of my old employees did experiments; some stones would end up like this.” He had been careful not to mention Hojo’s name, but an expression of intense loathing crept on her face. Apparently there was someone she hated a lot more than him. The thought amused him further. 

“What did… this employee do to it?”

“I’m afraid all of the data on that disappeared. I only know because I used to wander around the Shinra compounds,” he said, not telling her that he had later found out it had been an abandoned project of Scarlet’s weapon development program. 

“You spied on him?” she asked, interested.

He took another sip of that delicious concoction. “I was ten.”

“Ah.”

“Now, if you’d please…”

She straightened in her seat. “There have been rumors in this bar for a month or two. Of course people always disappear, but it’s a lot more working girls than usual. A drunkard in an alley said he saw the sky gone dark, before it lit up again.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Two weeks before the attack on the two girls at Carl’s bar.”

“I see, please continue.”

“The girl he claimed to be with was never seen again. People suspected him, but after what happened to those two girls in the bar…” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Have you talked to him?”

“He disappeared too.”

“Hmmm.” Rufus leaned back in his chair. He had a hunch something big was going on and now missed the power Shinra used to have. Back then at least they knew who their enemies were.

“Do you think it’s related to Hojo’s lab?” she asked.

“Possible. Though most of his old employees have all long since perished.”

“Occupational hazard?”

It was not a friendly joke, and he therefore ignored it. “What else?”

“I’m not sure if it has anything to do with this, but many of the old miners from Coral are now mining oil. There are rumors that oil has magical effects on Materia. It might just be superstition, but…”

“Worth checking out,” he finished.

“Exactly.”

She stood up abruptly, probably realizing with whom she talking. “The bar will fill up soon.”

“Of course.” He quickly finished his drink and stood up. “Pretty nice.”

“Not nearly as good as what you have usually, though, huh?”

“Actually it’s right up there with Mideel wine and our newest flavor of Shinra Vodka.”

She smiled involuntarily, as she opened the door and led him back to the bar. 

“Thank you for your hospitality,” he said, with a hint of irony. “Till next time.”

“Shinra,” she said, right as he was about to step out. “Mentioning your materia stocks to Yuffie was a mistake. She’s very interested now.”

“Is she?” he asked vaguely, before closing the door. But he made a mental note to tighten security on his warehouses.


	4. The Ghost of Nibelheim

“Sir, look at this!” Reno’s usually red hair had turned black. Oil was dripping from his whole body, but he looked happy enough.

Rufus stretched his hand, making sure none landed on his white suit. They were at a small oil field a little south of Coral. Reports from locals had alerted Rufus to magical activity here. Admittedly, some of those reports were a little extreme. Oil that had turned white, fairies circling it in the night. Someone had even claimed to see Sephiroth here. Rufus knew they must be exaggerating, but thinking of that man made him slightly uneasy. The wind was chilly too, worse than at Edge, where spring was right around the corner.

The other Turks gathered around the happy Reno. The prize for finding exhausted materia was a bonus and a night off.

“This is what we are looking for,” Rufus said after studying it for a few seconds. “Let’s go back…”

“Sir!” Tseng had done a quick spell and a shield was protecting Shinra’s president. All the others made a protective circle around him.

The oil was not still anymore. Small waves turned into bigger ones. Then the oil receded and started bubbling.

“Run!” Tseng yelled.

They headed up the small slope where they had parked their helicopter.

“What the…?!” Elena let out.

Rufus glanced back and saw that the oil had formed a big bubble. It was hovering slightly above the ground.

Reno was already behind the steering wheel. “President!”

They jumped in. Elena was half sprawled over him, but his eyes were fixed on the bubble floating towards them. “Go!”

“Rude, close that goddamned door!”Reno yelled.

“Quickly!” Elena yelled. Only Tseng seemed to be completely cool, his shield extending to surround the helicopter.

They were in the air, making height. The bubble was right beneath them now.

“Higher! Higher!” Reno was pulling at the steering wheel.

“Brace yourselves!” Tseng warned.

The bubble didn’t make much of a sound as it exploded, but the pressure blew the helicopter forward. Oil landed on the screen.

“Fuck! I can’t see!”

“Water!” Elena yelled and they were immediately doused with it. It did help clean the window.

Rufus looked down at his ruined suit, while Reno tried to balance the helicopter. He would have to go to the tailor again soon.

*

“Lady Heidegger! Miss Heidegger.” The woman who had first been announced was as fat as her husband had been. Strangely enough their daughter was extremely thin. She had a pretty face, but since he had hardly ever seen it do anything but scowl, Rufus found her unattractive. Nevertheless, he managed a sweeping bow and a hand kiss for the both of them.

The party was in full swing; only snobs like the Heideggers had waited to arrive this late. Rufus made the rounds professionally, complimenting some on business deals without committing himself to anything, while flirting with those who appreciated that.

He enjoyed watching the people in their finest clothes, doing their utmost to impress him, while pretending they didn’t care for him at all.

Half an hour before he had given a speech about the importance of safe driving and tools Shinra developed to accomplish this. He thought of what his father would say about having to do something like that and almost laughed out loud.

His orchestra started playing a waltz; he would soon be expected to lead some ladies to the dance floor.

“Sir.” Tseng was behind him then. It was usually he who served as bodyguard at parties like this, since he looked the least rough.

“Yes?”

“Miss Lockhart insists on seeing you. She’s waiting in your office.”

He nodded at him, and smile apologetically at two elder men who were about to approach him. “It’s urgent.”

Tseng followed him out of the ballroom and checked the elevator before they got in.

When they got to the twelfth floor, he saw her standing outside the door. She was dressed all in black, tight fitting clothes too, that didn’t show a lot of skin. Her hair looked messy and he guessed she had used a motorbike to get here.

“Good evening.”

She smirked at him. “There are rumors you fought with an oil field…”

“Ah, you heard about our misadventures at the Western continent?”

He held the door for her and she followed him in. When he turned on the light, he saw she even had a smear of oil on her cheek. Her attention was elsewhere, though.

“What’s that doing there!?”

She stared in horror at the painting of the Nibelheim mansion. He realized then that what for him was just an unpleasant memory, was for her the terror of her youth: her town burning and family destroyed.

Her hand clutched her stomach and he remembered that there had been reports of a young guide having been stabbed by Sephiroth.

“That was you, right?” he asked quietly.

It took her a few moments before she composed herself. “Why do you have this?”

He walked over to the painting and took it off, placing it face-down on the desk. “It reminds me of Shinra’s wrongdoings in the past. If I had known you would come here, I would have taken it down this morning.”

She nodded slowly, but he could tell the ghosts were not entirely banished yet.

“We didn’t fight the oil-field,” he said, gesturing at one of his chairs. “It was a one-sided attack.”

“Attacked?” She looked distracted and did not sit. “How?”

“It turned into a big bubble and then splashed over our helicopter.”

“Oh.”

“Drink?” he asked.

“You have any water?”

He went to the bar behind his desk and chose Kalm Spring water. After pouring her a glass, he sat down behind the desk. She stared at the glass for seconds and then put it to her lips, finishing it in one gulp.

“I wager you and your compatriots would have enjoyed hearing about our struggle,” he said, to further distract her from Nibelheim. “My best clothes were ruined and it took Reno two hours to wash the oil from his hair.”

She relaxed slightly. “Did you find anything?”

“More exhausted materia. It’s in our lab now.”

The door opened and in came one of his dogs. Tifa perked up, glancing at the enormous animal. “Is that…?”

“It’s one of Dark Nation’s pups,” he explained, as it looked curiously back at Tifa.

“This one is even bigger than her! Does it also have such a… distinctive name?”

“Strife.”

She frowned, but her eyes widened when she saw how the dog walked over and laid his head in Rufus’ lap.

“It likes you?” she uttered.

“Surprisingly enough?” Rufus said with a small smile.

“Does he bite?”

“Only when I tell him to,” he said, rubbing the dog’s head. “He likes to be petted.”

Tifa squatted on the floor and held out her hand. It was clear she was a little nervous, but she didn’t pull it away when he sniffed her scent. He started wagging his tail and let her tickle his neck.

She chuckled and then laughed when he licked her face. “Hey, watch it.” He licked her again, putting his paw on her knee, making her laugh all the more.

Rufus watched from his chair, fascinated by the scene in front of him. This was the first time he had heard the woman laugh. It made her seem younger than the fanatic environmentalist he had always taken her for. Her behavior also contrasted with that of any other people, who had encountered his dogs. Their reactions always ranged from disinterest to fear, never delight.

“Does he have any siblings?” Tifa asked, as she continued petting him. “I’d like one for the bar.”

“They are a special breed,” Rufus said. “Worth about the same as ten of your bars.”

Disappointed, she stood up. “Ah, I should have known.”

“You can have one,” he said suddenly. “In exchange for the recipe to Eight Heaven.”

“You want to sell my drink?”

“I promise we’ll only serve it in our company’s restaurant. Deal?”

Tifa looked at the dog again and then slowly nodded.

“Good, now, was there anything else?”

She finally seemed to remember what it was she had come for. “There is graffiti spreading around the city. It shows a black monster next to a white star.”

“I heard,” Rufus said. “Just normal street artists?”

“That’s the thing,” she said. “They are usually proud to let at leas a select group of people know about their work, but nobody knows who did this.”

“I see. I’ll post some people around their usual joints.”

“Anything more?” he asked politely.

“That’s it. I guess it’s time for you to go back to your party.”

“Indeed.” He had honestly forgotten about that for a few minutes. It was bizarre that he rather talked to this woman with an oil smear on her face than to those smiling weasels downstairs. “I will come by for the recipe and the dog sometime soon.

“Okay.”

She closed the door softly behind her, leaving him to face an evening of mediocre dancing and tedious conversation.


	5. Uncle Rufus

It was almost dawn when Rufus finally got to bed on the twelfth floor. His feet hurt, both from the clumsy Mrs. Ferne, who had stepped on his toes four times during their dance. He threw off his suit, not bothering to fold it as he didn’t plan on wearing it again. Then he took his gun from his holster and placed it on the cupboard next to him.

A sharp whistle woke him just as he had drifted off. He reached for his gun, but was thrown back against the wall before he could reach it. The world turned dark, his nostrils filling with a horrible smell. He retched as he tried to sit up. There were no sounds around him and the smell made him drowsy.

“Tseng,” he mumbled, before he realized he had to close his eyes right that moment.

He was just in time, for a light so potent that it would have blinded him otherwise.

Something knocked him back, perhaps the light, he wasn't sure.

“President!”  
“He’s out!” he heard Elena say.

“I’m fine,” he said sharply. “Did you see anything?”

“Just the light...” Reno said. “Sir, I don’t know how they got in. We’ve tightened security ever since we came back from Coral.”

Rufus gave him an impatient wave.

“So they’re after Shinra, huh?” Reno said, helping him up.

“They might just want to warn us,” Rufus pointed out. “Or we’re one of several targets.”

“Perhaps,” Reno said, skeptically.

“In any case, make sure this doesn’t happen again. I need some rest.”

Both Elena and Reno looked ashamed. “Sir! Yes, sir!”

*

It was two weeks after the party when Reno drove him through the entertainment district. He had chosen his smallest car, but the few people that were on the streets in the afternoon still looked surprised when they saw it in thier area.

“Look sir!”

Reno stopped next to a wall. On it was the graffiti Tifa had mentioned; a sinister monster with red eyes loomed over what seemed to be a depiction of Midgar.

Rufus made it clear with a gesture that he wanted to go on. In the last two weeks reports of all kinds of strange phenomenons were coming in. He had not been attacked again, but the oil fields were abandoned and a young man had been abducted, from the late night train this time.

On the seat next to him sat a small dog. It had been the runt of the litter, but he expected Lockheart would be pleased with it. She did seem like the type to take in strays.

The bar was closed, but he knocked the door anyway. A girl opened, barely five years old. Her clothes were dirty, but her hair was combed.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Can I see Miss Lockhart?”

“Who?” she asked, ready to close the door in his face.

“Tifa.”

"Oh." She turned around. “TIFA!!!”

The girl screamed so loud that Reno opened the window of his car, staring at her in alarm.

“You stay there,” Rufus said to him.

Tifa appeared quickly. “Lin, what did I say about opening the door for strangers?” she admonished the girl.

“Sorry.” She looked so dejected all of a sudden that Tifa smiled at her and ruffled her hair. Then she looked up at him. “Hey.”

“Hello. I’ve come to bring the dog. It’s female.”

Reno opened the door to his car then and out jumped the little runt. Tifa’s eyes lit up. “She’s beautiful.”

Lin took one look at the animal and ran inside.

“I haven’t written the recipe down yet,” Tifa said, bowing down to take up the pup. “Why don’t you come in for a moment?”

He nodded. When he followed her inside, he saw to his surprise that the bar had turned into something that resembled a school. Children aged roughly between 4 and 10 were sitting on pillows, while a small blackboard was filled with simple equations.

“You’re a teacher too? Impressive.”

She looked proudly at the children, who were all staring at him and the dog. “They are making good progress.”

“You do this every day?” he asked.

“No time. And their parents need them to help out. I only teach on Monday, sometimes Marlene helps me.”

The dog, meanwhile, seemed to be quite shy at all this sudden attention and hovered pathetically at his feet.

“Remember I told you about Strife the dog I met a few weeks ago? This is his little sister,” Tifa told the curious children.

“Niece, actually,” Rufus corrected.

“Why is he called Strife?” The biggest boy asked Rufus. “Are you friends with Cloud?”

“They know each other,” Tifa said quickly.

“When is uncle Cloud coming home?” Lin piped up.

“I told you,” and Rufus was sure he saw a shadow cross her face. “He has important business.”

Rufus watched as Lin and two other young kids kept asking about Cloud. She had trouble hiding her anxiety as she tried to change the subject again and again.

Rufus suddenly felt annoyed. What man wouldn’t want to live with her? If he had a woman like this, he would take her to bed every night, not ride around the world on a motorcycle in search for himself or whatever it was he thought he was doing.

“Is that okay?” he heard her ask.

“Sorry?”

“Can they call you uncle Rufus?” Tifa was smiling at him pleasantly enough, but there was a hint of mischief.

He raised his eyebrows, but clearly that was enough for the kids. “Can you tell us a story, uncle Rufus?”

“Hey!” Tifa let out. “The lesson isn’t finished yet.”

“Please!” Now all the kids turned on her with their pleading faces. “Please, Tifa.”

She sighed. “But you will all have extra homework then.”

They nodded and began to put their pillows around him.

Tifa looked at him for a few moments. “You want to stay for dinner?”

It was clear that she had expected him to decline, for she looked surprised when he nodded.

“It’s very simple food, business has been bad lately.”

“I understand.”

As soon as she had left for the kitchen, he sat down in the middle of the circle, petting the dog to make her feel more comfortable. “Do you want to hear about Shinra’s takeover of the Costa del Sol tourist industry?”

It took less than half a minute before they got bored. Only when he introduced the ghost of a shark did they get interested again. He took his cue from this and by the time Tifa returned it had become an epic tale about mermaids fighting the evil tourists in Costa del Sol with the help of Shinra agents and supernatural friends.

The kids started applauding when Rufus finished and he gave her a rather smug look.

“I can’t believe you took this as an opportunity to promote Shinra,” Tifa said, shaking her head.

She probably didn’t even realize she smiled as she turned back to her food.

A rush of warmth shot through his body. Never before he had seen someone smile so at him, without fear or irony in their eyes. He watched her walk back to the door, her long hair swaying with every step. With a start he realized he desired this woman above all others.

During the meal he was very quiet; watching her as she handed out mashed potatoes and some vegetables on paper plates. She had even gotten some milk and yoghurt. It was a healthy meal, maybe the only proper one some of them got all week.

Once she caught him looking at her, but he quickly took a sip from his milk to avoid her big eyes.

It was interesting to see how she cared for the children, him and the dog. She hadn’t even forgotten about Reno, but he had been eating donuts in the car and had politely declined to join.

At the end of it, she let the children clean up as she wrote something on a paper.

“Here’s the recipe,” she said.

He stood up and took it from her without looking at it. “Thanks for the meal. The yoghurt is very good.”

“I’m glad you managed to stomach it.”

“I used to eat things like that when I lived in the countryside as a kid.”

“Oh?” she asked. “Where did you live?”

“Every couple of months in a different place.”

“You never had a real home?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, it was fine. Better than being holed up with my father at Midgar.”

Tifa contemplated this and said: “Maybe we should talk some other time. I don’t want the kids to hear about disappearances and the like.”

“Yes, I will send you an invitation soon.”

“Invitation…?” she started, but he had stepped into the dark street already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time:
> 
> Rufus takes Tifa and the kids to the Gold Saucer, where an old enemy is waiting for him.


	6. Weeks of Pain

Checking the work of his accountants was one of his least favorite tasks, but Rufus did it every month or two. They needed to stay sharp and aware that he was keeping an eye on them.

He circled an amount of 20.000 gil that seemed shady. Had lower management really needed that much money for a trip to Kalm?

Since his task was so uninteresting, it was easy to think of other things. When he had left Seventh Heaven he had stirred Tifa’s curiosity by talking about an invitation. After that it had taken him a while to come up with something suitable. He would not be able to woo her in the same way he had charmed women before.

For one, she might still hate him, or at least Shinra Company. Sure, she had been polite to him lately, but at the very least he should have to overcome strong distrust.

In the end Rufus had settled with sending her an invitation to visit the Gold Saucer, with however many children she might like. Tseng had left with that invitation two hours ago, his personal number written on the back.

Another figure on the paper caught his interest. Costumes for the haunted house in the Gold Saucer. It was a small amount and he had only noticed it since had just been thinking about that specific place, but he remembered having paid for this only six weeks ago. These seemingly innocent little costs needed more scrutinizing. If there was one thing he hated it was his own people stealing from him. It made him look weak and foolish.

His phone rang and he picked it up after placing the papers down.

“Hello?”

“Hello? Is this… am I talking to Rufus Shinra?”

He leaned back in his chair. “The one. Miss Lockhart?”

“Yes.” She paused for a moment and then said, “I want to thank you for your invitation, but I have to decline.”

“Oh?”

“I can’t leave my bar easily.”

“We will compensate you for lost business. Any other objections?”

“What about the dog?”

“I’m sure you can find her some place to stay.”

“Still, I can not accept that,” she said immediately.

“Then how about the children, would you deny them this opportunity?” he said, changing tactics.

“Of course not! But… I’m not sure if it’s responsible… What guarantee can you give me you have no other plans with them?”

“Ah, that’s the real reason, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“That’s why I invited you with them,” he said smoothly.

“If we go… can I bring someone else along?”

He stiffened. “You mean Strife?”

“Or another friend.”

“Sure,” he continued, not wanting her to know that he had new reason to resent the ex-soldier. He was still not sure about the nature of his relationship with Tifa. “When would it suit you?”

“I will ask the children and their parents, probably next Monday and Tuesday, is that okay?”

“You are all welcome to make use of our helicopters,” he said. “See you then.”

After they had hung up, he turned off his phone. Not just their former alliances stood in the way, but also the fast gulf in wealth. He had not failed to notice that she had suggested the two days in which business in bars was the slowest.

*

Rufus had never liked the Gold Saucer, even as a child. It represented wealth, but in its least elegant form.

The manager of Ghost Alley had been in a state of shock when Shinra’s president had marched up and demanded to know why she had asked for the same money twice. A tearful conversation later, and he had fired her. She was on her way down now, barred from returning.

He heard the sound of helicopters and headed down the cable car. There were two of them, one following the other at a safe distance. He had charged Reno and Elena with the safety of those children and had cleared out the venue from regular visitors.

Four very excited kids jumped from the first helicopter. Lin waved as she recognized him.

“Uncle Rufus!”

Reeve stepped out behind them, smiling. They shook hands and Rufus could tell he hid his amusement at the way the girl had addressed him.

“I did not expect you,” Rufus said, taking in his casual appearance. The man looked more relaxed than he had ever seen him before.

“Tifa insisted on bringing someone. I guess her other friends are not too fond of Shinra.”

The other helicopter had stopped by now, ending the noise. A few moments later Tifa came out with three more kids.

“Welcome,” he said, gesturing at the Gold Saucer. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail and she looked delicious in a pair of jeans and a white tank top. “Shall we go up?”

The kids were all staring at the Amusement Park. None of them had ever been outside the city and the landscape was alien to them.

“They are really excited,” Tifa said, as they rode the cable car back up. “Pearl here even wants to ride a chocobo.”

A girl with enormously thick glasses stared up at him. “Can I?”

“I’m afraid you need to be sixteen to participate in the races.” Her look of disappointment distracted him for a moment. Why not start a chocobo farm for children? The upper classes of Junon and Edge would be willing to spend…

His new business plan was interrupted by Lin. “I heard you can’t play here without money.”

“Ah,” he said, holding up a bag with coins. “Real money is useless here. You’ll need this.”

Many pairs of eyes lit up, but they were distracted when they reached the Saucer. The adults followed the excited kids towards the station, with all its holes leading to different sections of the Saucer. The children crowded around Rufus and his mysterious bag.

“You can all take ten coins,” he said, holding it for Lin and an even younger boy first. “Mr. Reeve here will be your guide. Stay together.”

Reeve stared at him in disbelief, as the kids started grabbing coins. “Me?”

“Sorry, dear fellow, but the lady and I have some business to discuss. Besides, I think you know this place rather well, am I wrong?”

He looked at Tifa to see if she would object, but she nodded at Reeve. Apparently she could trust him.

“I feel sorry for him,” Tifa said, looking at the kids trying to pull Reeve in different directions.

“Let’s go to my office,” Rufus suggested.

“Can we walk around instead?” Tifa asked. “I haven’t been here in years.”

“Of course.”

“Is Joe still racing?” she asked, looking at the hole leading to Chocobo Square.

“No, he got bored with it and is now working on a Chocobo farm. I think he wants to breed even faster birds. How do you know him?”

“I won a race against him once,” she said rather smugly.

“Impressive.”

She smiled and then watched as the kids finally decided to go to Ghost Square first. “Bringing them here was great. I’ve never seen them this happy.”

He glanced at her, remembering her financial insecurity. “You spend a lot of money and energy on them.”

“Someone has to do it,” she said, shrugging.

“Shouldn’t you save up for when you have children of your own?”

Her smile dissipated and she looked down for a few moments.

“I can never have children.” Her hand rested on her stomach, the same spot where Sephiroth had stabbed her all those years ago.

For once in his life he truly didn’t know how to reply. Of all the things she had lost in her life, this had to be one of the bitterest blows for someone as naturally maternal as this woman.

“If it’s mako poisoning, my labs are developing treatments for that,” he suggested lamely.

She gave him a bitter smile. “Even if I could afford those, it wouldn’t matter. It’s the stab wound.”

“I apologize for bringing this up.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t know.”

But her lighthearted mood had disappeared; once more the ghost of Nibelheim had come between them.

“How is the dog?” he asked, remembering how this subject had distracted her from such memories last time.

“A little shy, but she’s quite well. Marlene takes her for walks every day.”

“Did you give her a name?”

“No. The kids all like different ones, we’re gonna vote on it when we get back,” she said, smiling again. Then she gestured at the hole leading to Event Square. “Is there a play?”

“Not in the afternoon. Let’s talk there.”

They both jumped through the hole. There were few people in this section of the Saucer now. Only two cleaners and an actor who was practicing lines.

They sat on a bench a few rows behind him. She crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly.

“There is a chance our mysterious villain is targeting me or Shinra company,” he said.

“What makes you think so?”

“I was attacked in my bedroom,” he admitted.

“Did you see anyone?” she asked.

“Nobody, but I’m sure it was someone with experience in using materia. I refuse to believe it’s a supernatural phenomenon.”

“It should be someone who knows about Shinra security. Otherwise how could they have surprised you like that?”

He nodded. “Perhaps one of your comrades? Avalanche always had a good time sneaking around our buildings.”

“I’m sure they have better things to do,” she said firmly. “I was thinking more of former employees.”

“Possible.”

“Anyone in mind?”

“Perhaps,” he responded. “Just a hunch.”

She paused before continuing, waiting to see if he was going to tell her. When he didn’t, she said, “I have a feeling someone is aiming for more than just money or revenge on you. That graffiti has people buzzing; it’s almost like advertising for something.”

“Interesting thought,” he said, holding up his feet so one of the cleaners could sweep the dust underneath them.

“My friends are all on the look-out. Barret told me the miners at Coral have seen an enormous bird coming from the sky at night. It landed near the oil field that attacked you.”

“They are clearly trying to make people think something supernatural is going on,” Rufus concluded.

She nodded. “We can check it out tonight.”

“Sure.”

“But before that.” She suddenly smiled mischievously. “The kids have a surprise for you.”

And at that moment the curtains of the stage closed. Rufus looked at Tifa, but she just pointed at it. “You’ll see.”

The curtains opened again and there stood Reeve. “Welcome, welcome. It is an honor for me to present to you our latest play: ‘Uncle Rufus and the battle for Costa del Sol.”

Again the curtains closed. Tifa’s eyes were sparkling in anticipation and the curtain opened again. There stood the tallest of the children, wearing a white cape and a blond wig.

“OH! There’s so much rain in Edge. Let’s take over Costa del Sol and sit in the sun every day!”

Rufus took the opportunity to lean closer to her and whisper, “that’s me?”

She smiled. “Pretty good, huh?”

“Wonderful.”

A girl came running on stage. “Lord president, your majesty, your eh… excellen-tie!”

“My employees don’t talk like that,” Rufus said drily.

“Shhh.”

“Please, come with us,” the girl yelled, waving her hands. “The ghost sharks are eating people. Please protect us!”

On came the girl who Rufus now knew was Pearl. She was riding on a self-drawn shark and held up a stick, which probably represented a sword.

“We forbid thee to…!”

She stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes widening in shock.

Tifa and Rufus leaped up at the same time. Behind them utter darkness had appeared.

“Reno!” Rufus yelled.

Tifa had put a shield around the children a split second after she had seen this nothingness.

It shot boiling oil at the three on stage. It hissed as it melted against the shield.

Rufus drew his small gun and aimed slightly to the right of the monster. The children screamed. He closed one eye and shot.

Somebody shrieked. A woman’s voice. Tifa began to run in the direction of the sound, but jumped back when some of that sizzling oil blasted in her direction.

“Scarlet!” Rufus demanded. “Enough!”

“Scarlet…” Tifa uttered, realization dawning on her.

The oil dissolved slightly, showing the shape of the woman that had been his father’s confidante. No longer did she have her long hair or pretty face. It was marred with scars, and there was a bald spot at the top of her head.

“Shinra,” she said, and her voice sounded different as well. Hoarse, while it had once been shrill.

“Now, what is it that you want so badly?” he asked calmly.

“What company you keep,” she let out, ignoring his question. She pointed at Tifa with clear loathing on her face. “Trash from the slums.”

“Ah, well, we have all changed in the last few years, haven’t we?”

Her eyes now spit fire at him. “They did this to me, do you know that?”

“Many people did many things to many others,” he stated. “You of all should know that.”

“Of course,” she said and raised her arm. “Better take out some of them. Prevention is always best.”

When the oil began to boil and bubble, Rufus shot. His bullet liquefied before it could touch her. The oil rushed forward, once again aiming for the children. Pearl was frozen at the spot, gaping. Elena and Reno jumped in front of her, their shields strengthening Tifa’s.

Rufus knew what she was doing. While three of them shielded the children, he was left unprotected. He turned for her. Magic had never been one of his strengths and he doubted one shield spell could stop her now.

Only one chance. As he launched himself at her, he aimed in mid flight in mid-flight. Her eyes widened. Shocked, she stepped back. He stretched out his arm, sho.

Pure darkness swirled around him. He landed with a thud, but didn’t hear anything, while just before children had been screaming. 

Out of nowhere came the white flash, hitting him like an electric current. His body convulsed and he desperately tried to shield himself. It only increased in intensity.It felt like his flesh was coming off his bones.

The flash disappeared, but he was already unconscious.

*

“Shinra.” Somebody backhanded him. “Time to wake up.”

He blinked at the faint light. The floor beneath him was damp and the walls around made of stone.

“Scarlet...” he uttered, still trying to regain his composure. His whole body ached. Where was he?

“This is your stronghold?” he asked, trying to sit up. He realized his hands were tied together behind his back.

Great.

“Something like that,” she said, looking down at him. Her magic sang in the background and he wondered how many pieces of that strange materia she carried.

“So…”

“So?” she challenged.

“You didn’t answer my earlier question yet. What is it that you want so badly?”

She frowned at him. “The security codes to Hojo’s labs.”

He shook his head. “Out of the question.”

Her hand landed on his right cheek, nails drawn. They dug into his skin, her nails tearing it open, drawing blood.

“You always wanted to do that, didn’t you?” he asked her calmly.

“I’ve dreamed of hurting you, yes.”

“How charming.”

She opened her red purse and took a rag from it. “Let me clean that wound for you.”

He let out a sharp groan when it touched his torn cheek.

Salt.

“There, there. That’s better, hmm?”

He met her eyes. “I won’t give you the codes.”

“We’ll see. Have you ever seen the Project KG539 blueprints?” she asked.

“Can’t say that I have. What are they?”

She smirked. “Torture equipment.”

Rufus raised his eyebrows.

“See you soon,” she said with a sadistic smile.

After typing in a code at the door, she disappeared. Rufus looked around him. They had taken the tracking device he always had in his ring, as he had guessed she would. Scarlet had known about that.

Rufus couldn’t check to make sure, but he hoped they hadn’t found the one he had been carrying in his hair. If she had, he would be in for weeks of pain before she’d kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rufus gets tortured and can only hope help is on the way.


	7. A Bit of Redemption

It took hours before Scarlet returned. His bounds cut into his flesh and his neck hurt because of his awkward position. The stone floor was cold. It was likely he would get sick if he stayed there long. He got thirsty, but knew better than to ask for water. Showing he wanted something would make it even less likely to get.

She barged in with a manic grin on her face.

Rufus knew worse things were to come.

A man dressed in an old Turks uniform followed Scarlet in. It was not somebody he recognized.

“Still not ready to talk, I assume?”

Even though he was not looking forward to whatever Scarlet had planned for him, he was sure that what she planned to do to the world was even worse. If he ever wanted to find some kind of redemption, he could never let Hojo’s complete work fall into her hands.

"I wouldn't mind talking about your new appearance. Very fitting."

Her eyes narrowed. “Fine.”

The man drew a long stick. It was one of those old-fashioned things that they used to shock chocobos with if they got out of control.

Rufus kept his face passive as the man advanced and held it against his leg.

A second later, he heard a click. It was like white-hot needles were pressed into his flesh. Shaking violently, he knew nothing but pain

He fell back to the floor, trembling even after the man switched it off.

“Well?” Scarlet asked. "Speak."

It took him a few heartbeats before he could say anything. “No.”

The man adjusted something on the stick. Rufus braced himself; it was going to be even more painful than before.

It did. His world shrank to agony. On impulse, he tried to crawl away, but the stick hit his shoulder, arm, ankle. When he came to, Scarlet stood above him. Her eyes shone with pleasure. She had always been a sadist, like many people in his father's employ. Sadists, psychopats; people without a conscience. And he had been one of them. Even in this situation, he knew he deserved this pain. Shinra had done worse to many.

"You are some kind of hero now?" Scarlet asked.

He shook his head.

"Continue."

The torturer raised the stick again. Rufus closed his eyes, knowing they would keep this up for hours

A loud crash made them all look at the door.

Scarlet cursed and pushed the guard in his direction. “Stay here with him!”

She ran out of the door and kicked it close behind her. Rufus tried to make out what was happening. There was the distant sound of a machine-gun

“I think you got bigger worries,” the man said, speaking for the first time.

He raised the stick once more and slammed it against his chest. For moments he could not see.

"I really hate Shinra," the man spit.

"Who doesn't?"

"Shut up! If you knew what you did to...."

"I still wouldn't care."

The man put his foot on his face, adding more pressure by the second. Blood fell from his nose. Rufus rolled his eyes back, pretending to faint.

The man laughed, grabbed his hair. Rufus gathered all his strength and kicked.

The man howled, dropping the stick as he clutched his knee. Rufus swiftly pulled the stick close with his feet and turned it backwards. With the tip of his shoe he turned it on and then kicked it in the direction of his tormentor.

It hit the older man against his ankle. He screamed and fell down. The stick was still buzzing a few feet onwards and Rufus crawled towards it, intending to hit the man with it again.

The door flew open. Tifa glanced around frantically, her eyes widening when she saw him on the floor. She knelt beside him. Her warm hand moved over his chest, checking for injuries. “Are you wounded?”

“Just the face,” he said.

“Can you walk?”

“Yes, I…” but he sank back before he was sitting straight.

She looked at him concerned. “What did they…?” Her eyes fell on the stick and then narrowed. The man crawled towards it, but before he could grab it, she grabbed him by his collar.

“Keys!” she commanded.

“I…awa… don’t…”

Her hand turned into a fist. “Now.”

Normally, a man like this would not fear being threatened like this, but he knew who she was. That fist had snuffed out monsters far more dangerous than he. It took him some effort to reach into his pocket, but he finally produced it.

Grabbing it, she jumped back to Rufus. “It will just take a moment,” she said gently.

It made a buzzing sound when the bounds fell off. Relieved, he rubbed sore wrists.

“Don’t worry,” she said, with a reassuring smile. “I’ll heal you once we get back home.”

Even in the dire situation they were in, he couldn’t help but enjoy the way she was fussing over him.

“I am pleased to see you,” he said honestly.

“I bet you are.” She put her arm around him, helping him to his feet. It took a little while before he had regained his balance. They turned, only to see the man crawling towards the stick again. Tifa gave him a simple kick to the chest when they passed him by. Rufus leaned down and grabbed the small gun he had been carrying. As they went through the door, they heard him moan and curse. Closing it behind them, Rufus now saw they were in a narrow corridor, as devoid of decoration as his prison cell had been.

The sounds of fighting got closer.

“The Turks?” he asked, still leaning on her.

“Yeah, and Caith Sith.”

“The children?” he then asked her.

She nodded, giving him a soft smile. “Fine. Elena took them to Nanaki.”

“Who?”

She waved his question away. “Let’s go.”

They made their way towards the sound of fighting. Materia was clearly being used because he could hear thunder as well as shooting.

After a few minutes, they came to a large door. “I went through here,” Tifa said, and pushed it open.

It was a mistake. Aiming at them were no less than ten men, all dressed in Turks uniforms that had not been used for more than fifteen years.

Tifa gasped and tried to push him back behind her, but he was having none of that. Finding the strength in his legs again, he placed himself in front of her and addressed the men. “You are aware your mistress still needs my access codes?”

“Give them up and the girl lives,” A brusque man growled.

Rufus turned at him sharply. He knew that voice. “Glen Rust, it’s been a while.”

The broad man glared at him.

“Were you not one of my father’s most loyal bodyguards? What are you doing here with Scarlet?”

“Your father’s,” the man said. “The man you betrayed.”

“Ah, yes. That was a little unfortunate,” he conceded.

“You gave money to that AVALANCHE trash. Our greatest enemies! We should have put you down years ago!”

“Avalanche?” Tifa whispered behind him.

But there was no time to explain. The men aimed at him now.

“Tifa!” he whispered.

A shield spell was around them. Rufus ducked, shooting two men; one in the head and one in the chest. Tifa ran forward, hitting one with a bolt. His screams got lost in the gunfire. 

The former Turks shot blindly now, one even hitting another. Glen screamed and aimed for Rufus head. He missed barely and made ready for another shot.

“Blind,” Tifa whispered, taking Glen’s sight away. He covered his eyes, stunned, when another door swung open.

There was Scarlet, her magic crackling around her.

“Tifa!!” Rufus screamed and started running for her. But she was too far away. Distracted by the men, she saw the danger too late.

Scarlet hit her directly with her terrible oil. She cackled loudly, as Tifa flew up against the ceiling. Then she crashed to the floor and lay there, arms and legs twisted in unnatural ways.

Rufus raised his gun. All Scarlet’s energy was focused on hurting Tifa, leaving her open just enough.

He aimed, closed one eye and pulled the trigger. Scarlet screamed, grabbing her throat in horror. Again he shot her, this time in the face. She wasn’t entirely human anymore; otherwise she would have been dead by now.

Rufus looked behind her, at Tifa. He did not know if she was still alive. Furious, he aimed at Scarlet again, wanting her out so he could go to her.

The door swung open again and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Reno, followed by Caith Sith and the other Turks. “Keep her down,” he said hoarsely and he stumbled over to where Tifa lay.

Kneeling down next to her, he took her wrist. No pulse.

“No,” he whispered and laid his finger on her neck.

Nothing.

“Come here!” he screamed. “Do you have anything to cure her with?”

Caith Sith hopped over and showed him a flask. Rufus pulled it open and poured it over her.

“One more.”

“If the first one doesn’t help, it doesn’t…”

“NOW!”

The robot did as he was told, and Rufus threw the other one over her. Again, he checked her pulse.

Nothing!?

“Come on,” he whispered.

Finally he felt the faintest pulse.

“Hurry up!” he yelled at the Turks. “Use a healing spell.”

Tseng came up, mumbling something. Tifa started showing the familiar glow of someone being treated with Cure Materia.

“Let’s get out of here,” Reno said. “Got the ‘copters waiting outside.”

Tseng supported him, while Rude picked up the injured Tifa and started running.

“What about her?” Reno asked.

Rufus looked at Scarlet. She looked disoriented, but was not out for the count yet. It was tempting to take her prisoner, but he couldn’t risk her continuing the fight on the helicopter while they were flying Tifa to a hospital. Killing her would also take too much time. The only thing he could hope for was that she would die of her injuries later.

“Leave her!”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Confession in the hospital


	8. Proposal

Dr. Markos was old, eighty-seven to be precise. The man with the long, white beard had even served Rufus’ grandparents back when Shinra Company had been a single factory. There was still no doctor that Rufus would trust more than this hardened veteran. 

He had whistled between his teeth when he saw Tifa’s injuries and then shoed all of them out of his operation room. 

Rufus stood in the hallway next to it, forbidden from entering. He checked the clock again. It was already after dawn. Had he not led the life he had, he would have been amazed how much could happen within a day. Only last morning he had been preparing a fun fieldtrip for a bunch of children. 

“Sir.”

He looked to his left. Rude offered a cup of coffee, but he shook his head. 

For a few minutes they stood next to each other in the ill-lit hall. Then Rude asked, “She will be okay?”

Now Rufus remembered the jokes Reno used to make; about Rude being in love with the Avalanche girl with the big…

“She will be,” he said curtly, glancing at the clock again.

The doctor came out. Rufus raised his head. “Yes?”

“These are not normal injuries, right?”

Rufus nodded. “Something was done to the materia they used to attack her.”

“Exhausted it?”

“You knew about that?” Rufus’s eyes narrowed. “How?”

“Doctor Gast found out about it first. I later used it to heal discarded guinea pigs from Hojo’s lab. Then Weapons Development got interested and took over.”

“Can you help her?” Rufus asked, gesturing at the door behind the doctor

“If I have you permission to exhaust our Cure Materia,” the man said with his rasping voice.

“Get to it.”

 

It took more than two hours. Rufus didn’t leave his spot in the hallway. He only drank a bit of water, but otherwise stood rooted to the spot. A few mysterious sounds came out from behind the closed door. He wondered who else knew about how to exhaust materia. 

“Sir,” Markos said. “You can come in now.”

He followed the doctor into the room. Tifa’s skin had grown pale, but her eyes opened. 

“Rufus…Rufus Shinra.” She smiled as if it was a funny joke and fell asleep again. 

“She’s completely healed,” Doctor Markos assured him. “But her energy is drained because of the treatment. It might take a day or two before she can walk around.”

“Thank you,” Rufus said. 

“I assume you want my knowledge on how to exhaust materia later?”

“You got that right.”

The doctor sighed. “I’ll start writing a report.”

While the older man hurried off to get this task done, Rufus sat down on a stool next to the patient. He placed his hand on her forehead, checking her temperature. It was lower than normal. On the cupboard next to him lay the remote control of a small heater hanging above them. He turned it up by four degrees. It bleeped and began to blow warmer air in their direction. 

After this he did not touch her, but sat as still as he had stood outside before. Markos has treated him when he was a child and he trusted his medical expertise. However, he could not feel at ease until she woke up again.

This happened many hours later. Her attempt to sit up drew his attention. 

“How do you feel?” he asked, supporting her by placing his hands on her back. 

“No pain,” she said surprised. 

Rufus pulled back again when she leaned against the cushions. “Thank you for saving me.”

In turn she smiled faintly. “Shouldn’t I thank you?”

“You wouldn’t have been attacked if it were not for me,” he pointed out. “The Turks shouldn’t have let you come along.”

“Don’t be angry with them,” she said. “I forced them.”

“I’m sure you did.”

There was an awkward silence. Tifa glanced at him, opened her mouth and then closed it again.

“What is it?” 

She swallowed and then asked, “You’ve been here the whole time, right?”

He nodded

Pushing the cushion behind her, she sat up straighter. “Why?”

He took her right hand between his own. It was still colder than it should have been, so he rubbed warmth into it. 

She pulled her hand back slowly and looked away from him. Ill at ease now, he stood up from his chair. “My apologies, I did not want to make you uncomfortable.”

Suddenly her dark eyes flashed at him. “You didn’t, not really. I was just…” 

“You don’t need to explain.”

Her face was still close to his. He would only have to lean down and kiss those lips. Still, he hesitated. She was injured and perhaps under the influence of Markos’ materia, it wouldn’t be fair to take advantage.

The door swinging open saved him from that difficult decision. “President!”

Reno stormed in behind Rude. “Elena found a contact of Scarlet. Somebody in Junon. It seems she has been shipping cargo there for quite a long time. It might be a weapon of some kind! We should go and…”

“This is a sickroom,” Rufus said sharply.

“Yeah.” Reno waved at Tifa. “Good to see you’re better.”

“Thanks.” She squinted her eyes as if she did not recognize him. He had been right; Tifa was not her old self yet.

Rufus took the gun Reno offered him. “This seems important.”

Her eyes closed and she breathed in slowly. Without another word, he followed Reno out of the door. 

They arrived at Junon an hour after midnight. Rufus had dozed off in the helicopter, but felt little relieved of his fatigue when the harbor came into view. 

“That’s where we’ll meet her,” Reno pointed at a series of containers. 

“Her?”

“It was a woman on the phone,” Tseng said. “She specifically asked to meet you, sir.”

Rufus sat motionless as Reno landed and hoped it was not a prank by that Kisiragi brat. 

They waited in the drizzling rain for only five minutes. Someone in a black raincoat approached them, the hood drawn over her face. Tseng and Reno tensed up, but Rufus strolled towards her. “Nice to make your acquaintance, miss…?”

“We’ve met.”

She slowly took the hood down for effect. Not one of his muscles twitched in surprise, but Reno’s loud gasp ruined this act of indifference somewhat. 

“Ah, Miss Heidegger, did not know you had a fondness for traveling incognito.”

Her face no longer held the sour expression that he had always seen there. It had become alive, filled with ideas and passions that he had had no notion of.

Interesting.

Dangerous.

“I take it you have renewed your acquaintance with Scarlet?” she asked.

“You assume correctly. A friend of yours?”

“That depends. I can not be both your friends at the same time, can I?”

“Another correct presumption,” he said.

She shivered in her thin coat. “Then I’d advise you to be a good friend to me, so I won’t miss her."

“Dear lady, why ever should I want to?”

“I’ll give you Scarlet on a platter, with all that she owns and stands with her.”

“That would be a good reason,” Rufus admitted. “How can I convince you of my friendship?”

“Marry me.”

He took a step back. 

“Oh, do not worry. I have no fluttering of an affection for you. At least not since I was fourteen. I only ask you to give me a child to succeed you, and a spare would be nice.”

“You seek to rule Shinra,” he said softly. 

“As my father should have.”

So that was what this was about. “Your father would not have kept the company together. You know that well.”

“But we will.”

For a moment he thought. Scarlet and this woman together were a real threat, not just to him and the company, but to the world at large.

However, he had no illusion that she would let him live once their supposed children had been conceived. She might as well proceed with whatever Scarlet had been planning after his ‘unfortunate passing’. Only then she would have Shinra behind her too. 

“It is a gracious offer,” he said, playing for time. “Are you sure you would want to give yourself up to the likes of me?”

“Do you accept?” she asked.

“Please write down all your demands and we’ll discuss it same time next week.”

“That’s not going to work.”

“What’s not?” 

“Delay. Give your answer now. Marriage or not?” 

“I’m afraid not.”

Her face hardened. “Mistake.”

She was about to turn around, when Tseng grabbed her shoulders. “You will be coming with us, Miss.”

“I won’t.”

Lights shot up around them, which blinded Rufus for a critical second. An explosion sounded to his left and when his pupils dilated again, she had disappeared. 

“Great.” Reno kicked a can out of the way. 


	9. Shadows

They stayed in Junon until the early afternoon, trying to find out more about Heidegger’s operation. Rufus chased down some of his old contacts. A mousy looking secretary had once sold him secrets about his father’s operations. Today she showed him a run-down clinic. Reno spotted a piece of exhausted materia, while Rufus found a half burned note with ingredients.

“Wutai Rose?” he queried.

“A poison,” Elena answered. “Used by the ancestors of an off-shoot village. Buried by an earthquake 132 years ago.”

“A very potent poison?”

“Not particularly. It is only deadly after sustained contact.”

Rufus handed her the paper. Elena produced a plastic bag and folded it with care.

“I guess we will need to reacquaint ourselves with Miss Kisaragi.”

No naps on the helicopter on the way back, for Rufus spent all his time making phone calls.

Shadows traced through the tidbits his contacts gave him. Disappearing people here and there, things stolen that should hold no value, sightings of strange phenomenons.

By the time he arrived in his office, he suspected Scarlet and Heidegger had to be after nothing less than domination. Shinra was just a part of it, not the main goal.

He got another piece of unpleasant news when the good doctor Markos informed him Tifa had been picked up by a ‘blond chap on a motorcycle’.

To make sure his day would not get any worse, he dragged himself to his room and fell into a dreamless sleep.

The phone woke him just after dawn.

“This is Strife.”

“Yes?”

“You and Tifa have worked together.”

Rufus sat up, but let him fill up the following silence.

“If you are interested in cooperating more, come here at night.”

“For dinner,” he heard Tifa say in the background.

“For dinner,” Strife repeated, rather grudgingly.

Without saying anything else, Strife pushed him off the line.

It would be petty not to go out of spite and, once he started shaving, he had decided he would enjoy showing Strife that Tifa no longer hated him as before.

Until the early evening, he worked on following some leads that all proved dead ends. He only took a break to order a basket with fruit. He was pretty sure Tifa would distribute it amongst the children she had taken under her wings, but the thought was the key.

He put on a white dress shirt and left it open to create a more casual appearance.

Elena drove him this time. She had clearly gotten her driving lessons from Reno, because she sped far past the legal limit.

This time, Tifa wore jean shorts and a red blouse, with some of the seaming raffling. Her open smile told him she remembered nothing of what he had revealed at her sickbed. Her dog happily moved around her legs.

“Your doctor did good work,” she said.

“You feel better then?”

“A slight tingling in my stomach, but far better than 24 hours ago.” She stepped from the door. “Come in.”

He handed her the fruit basket with an ironic smile, but she seemed genuinely pleased with it. “Take at least a peach yourself before you start distributing,” he said.

She looked a little surprised he had read her so well. “I will.”

Only Pearl, Lin and a boy he had never seen before joined them for dinner. Strife’s eyes widened when the two girls hailed him with cries of ‘Uncle Rufus’.

“I hope you weren’t just polite when you said you liked the yogurt,” Tifa said. “Because I got a whole lot.”

“Excellent.”

He sat down on the same folding chair as last time and took his time admiring a drawing Lin gave him.

“Is this a monster?” he asked.

She looked offended. “It’s my brother… and that’s you, next to Cloud. And that’s Alona, Tifa’s dog.”

Rufus finally looked at the other man. They could never be on such friendly terms as on the drawing if Strife still had some interest in her.

“Ah, I see. Nice job on the hair.”

Cloud turned around and leaned over Tifa as she washed the fruit, whispering something in her ear. Rufus’s good mood dissipated.

“We can talk later,” she said to him. “First let’s get them some vitamins.”

She sent him a pointed look before taking a bite of a peach. He raised his eyebrows and felt his mood lighten again. Strange how one person could wield such power over him.

What was even stranger was that he did not resent her for it.

Still, his immediate problem was of course Strife. If not for him, he would have moved slowly, gently towards winning her, but chances were the idiot would mess her up again. He needed to take her out of his grasp. And then he decided he had a plan to do just that.

Reno had an eye for such things, so he texted him instructions. Then he waited until Tifa served the plate with fruit and yogurt and everyone started eating.

“I’d like to teach you how to dance.”

Tifa had just taken a sip of water, which she had now trouble swallowing. “Excuse me!?”

It was of vital importance to stay cool, so he took a bite of his apple first. Strife looked quite displeased, but Pearl smiled happily.

“I need to work high society circles, attend their parties and play cards in backrooms. It would be best if a woman escorted me who can hold her own in a fight.”

Strife frowned at him. “Take Elena.”

“It would be too obvious she would be there as my bodyguard,” Rufus replied smoothly. “Tifa could come as a representative of the working classes. And as a heroine.”

“I don’t think so,” Strife said.

She cut in before Rufus could sneer at him. “Do you really believe that is of any use? Scarlett seems to have little to do with anyone but her own minions.”

“Heidegger’s daughter approached me. She proposed to me actually.”

“For marriage?” Tifa asked, startled.

“Indeed. She threatened to join Scarlet if I refused.”

Tifa leaned forward, looking at him intently. “And?”

“I said no, of course. A union with her would only raise her profile.”

“Quite right,” Tifa said quickly.

“Still, it is not ruled out that they are backed by others. So, I would ask you to join me tonight for preparations.”

“You want to remake me into a society princess?” Tifa smiled, as if this was funny to her, but he well understood her suspicions. If he tried to mold her into something she would never be, he would not stand the slightest chance with her.

Rufus therefore leaned back. “Remember when you met me in that bar? My shoes were wrong, remember?”

“Not just your shoes. Who asks for a wine list in a place like that? The bartender kept imitating you for ten minutes after you left.”

“See? It is the same thing. The elite does not expect you to know their ways, but they will be more comfortable with you if you do.”

This time her smile was genuine. “You said ‘they’. You don’t count yourself among them anymore?”

“I’ve always considered myself well above them.”

She rolled her eyes, but he knew she was amused, not annoyed.

This little exchange had definitely irritated Strife, though. His eyes had flickered back and forth between them. Their familiarity must be crazy to him.

“What will you wear?” Pearl asked, having finished the last of her yogurt.

“Leave that to me.” Rufus stood up. “Strife can take care of the children, it’s best to start right away.”

“I’d first like a word with Tifa,” Strife said. “She can join you later.”

“In two hours, okay?” she asked him. “I also need to find Marlene.”

“I’ll send the car over.”

“Thank you.”

Rufus stood up, his eyes locking with Strife’s. Then he waved at the kids and walked out, knowing full well Strife’s talk would set him back with Tifa a couple of weeks.


	10. Dance

After arriving back at the building, he headed to his private quarters to wait for her. Sure enough, when she finally arrived at the top floor of his building, she did not look at him directly and her body had tensed up.

“Strife gave me a good verbal trashing?” he asked from his sofa, sipping Mideel Wine.

A little guiltily, she nodded.

“Look, perhaps it’s not a good idea if we…”

The door opened, right in time. Through it strode a young man so stunningly beautiful that Tifa lost the rest of her sentence.

“May I introduce Haki, our stylist.”

The brunet gave her a nod and took her hand with an elegant gesture. “This way, madam.”

Tifa glanced at Rufus in surprise, but he just saluted her with his wine. “See you in a while.”

He took the list of fancy gatherings Tseng had prepared for him and started crossing the ones he deemed too unimportant. Then he watched the ten o’clock news, but saw nothing that seemed related to Scarlet or Heidegger.

A knock on his door.

He sat straighter, in anticipation, but it was only Reno.

“President?”

“Come in. Help yourself.”

“Thanks.” Reno took a glass from the small table next to Rufus and poured himself a drink. “Was the dress okay?”

“I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Who is it for?”

“Really, Reno.”

“Sorry.”

But the redhead was still dying with curiosity. Right when he decided to send him away, the door was knocked again.

“Yes?”

In she strode, with the turquoise dress Reno had picked out earlier.

“Oh!” The redhead let out.

Rufus managed to restrain himself from making any noise, but he mentally added his own ‘oh!’ to Reno’s.

Longer than anything she usually wore, it still managed to accentuate all the delights of her body. Delicate shoes, a shade darker than the dress, made her walk in small steps. Her hair had been done up, with just a few strands curled in her neck.

He stood up, offering his hand for her to lean on. She took it, ill at ease with the way she looked.

“Let’s talk outside,” Rufus said softly.

Reno still stood gaping, so Rufus frowned at him over Tifa’s shoulder and nodded at the door.

While he scurried off, Rufus led her to the balcony.

It was a lot smaller than the one he had had in Midgar, but the view impressed him every time he got here. He loved this new city, which held none of the bad memories the old one did. Every street and building provided new opportunities. It was a place he could conquer all by himself, without relying on his father's work.

“Can you find your bar from here?” he asked.

“Behind those highrisers there.” She pointed.

He followed her gaze. “That seems about right.”

“Haki is a magician,” she said. “I’m a completely different person.”

“Not so different.”

“Where did you meet him?”

“He has been with Shinra for a long time.” He paused and then decided she could only trust him if he stopped hiding everything. “He used to pry secrets from our competitors.”

“By…?”

“He prides himself on being able to seduce any man, gay or otherwise.”

“What about you?” she asked with an amused twinkle in her eyes.

He smirked. “Perhaps I’ve thought about it.”

She took in the night sky for a moment longer and then turned away from it. “We should practice?”

“Ah…yes,” he said, remembering the pretext of this meeting. He walked back in and took one of the remotes. Uplifting tunes from a more innocent time; without maco and energy wars, filled the room.

Rufus held out his hand in the correct way and saw her hesitate, before taking it. He pulled her close to him, but not too much and stepped left, then forward.

She followed, but her lack of trust in him made her hold on too loosely.

“Let’s do that again,” he said, holding her by the small off her back.

Nervous, she followed, but moved again too late.

“I’m not used to the shoes.”

“You can take them off for now.”

Grateful, she reached down to undo the straps and he waited, while the music continued. After she tossed them to the side, she took his hand again and seemed more at ease. Following the basic steps, she did better than average. 

“Not bad,” he said.

Finally she looked at him. “I did martial arts as a kid, it’s a bit like it.”

“Ready for something more complicated?” he asked after a new tune set in.

“Sure.”

He raised her hand, making her do an outward turn, but she missed taking his hand again immediately.

“Let me try that again,” she said.

After three tries it went more fluently. The concentrated frown started to disappear, as she began to understand more how he moved.

Then she stepped on his toes.

“Sorry.”

“Glad you’re not wearing the shoes.”

She smiled and subconsciously shifted a little closer against him. He very much noticed it though, the feel of her body arousing him. His instincts told him to take her to the couch, pull up the dress and fuck her senseless, but he knew it was all too soon. And she’d probably punch him through the window the moment he lifted it up.

So he focused on the now and tried to stifle desire.

“Why do you look down on common people?” she suddenly asked when yet another tune had stopped.

Taken out of his rhythm, memories of more than two decades ago flashed through his brain. His brain sought for a joke, but by the expression on her face, he knew it was too late.

“Let’s take a break,” he said, leading her to that same couch that had just featured in a base fantasy. “Wine?”

“Please.”

He poured her a glass and then sat down next to her with his own.

“I’ve learned very young that common people don’t move if they are told not to, no matter what happens.”

Tifa glanced at him, while he sipped from his drink. “Perhaps they were afraid.”

“Exactly. Fear controls them. So I figured out it’s best if I’m the one they fear.”

“What happened?” she blurted out.

Rufus gave her a long look.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s none of my business.”

They said nothing for a while, and she shifted, uncomfortably. He then remembered that he knew about her most horrifying memories, that he had it all on file. So, just when she was about to stand up to leave, he said, “My father had my mother killed.”

Tifa let out a deep breath. “What?”

“In front of people who did nothing but stare.”

He downed his wine and put the glass down with force.

Nobody else knew about this. Those gaping as her neck was wrung by his father’s goonies, had all been shot with a machine gun. And here he was telling one of Shinra’s greatest adversaries. Suddenly, he realized how mad it was to tell her and he felt a rush of panic. 

Until she laid her hand on his arm and said, “I wish I had been there with you.”

Their eyes met again and they both imagined that day with Tifa there. Younger than him, she would still have tried to protect him, tried to make him not watch. And afterwards she would have comforted him when he cried for the last time in his life, fingers combing through his hair.

“It’s good you weren’t. He would have killed you too.”

His hand reached for hers, but she had pulled them away to pour him more wine. Silently, he let his hand rest on his knee and then used it to take the glass from her.

“Why did he kill her? Is what you want to ask, right?” he said.

“If you want to answer.”

“I’m not sure myself, a financial betrayal from what I deducted later.”

Her gaze rested on him and he knew her well enough now that right at this very moment, her opinion on him was softening, that Tifa started to empathize despite herself. What surprised him was that he had not told her to manipulate her, but purely because it felt fair.

“Can we go through the set one more time?” she asked, sensing that he had nothing more he wanted to share.

Tifa took his hand without that second of hesitation. She went through the steps flawlessly, seemed to enjoy the flow of the dance. Her eyes closed during a turn, opened again when she neared him. 

Oh, he wanted to kiss her. She was so close and warm and cheerful. But if he did she would think that his openness earlier had been manipulation, so he swirled with her through the room instead. Only when dawn set in, did they stop.

Her laughter took away any awkwardness that might have crept up.

Rufus said little when she left, shoes taken up with a promise to practice by herself.

He sank down on his sofa with his wine, when his phone beeped. “Yes?”

“Strife is at the door for you,” Reno said. “Insists on seeing you.”

“Let him in.”


	11. Rival

Rufus reached for the gun taped underneath his sofa and tugged it behind a cushion instead. 

“Mr. Strife, a pleasure,” Rufus said, when the other blond man marched into his office. “Drink?”

“Leave her alone. Whatever it is you’re doing, it stops here.”

“I’m assuming you are talking about Miss Lockhart? She seems capable enough to make such decisions for herself.”

“You are preying on her weaknesses, you know she’s vulnerable,” Strife’s eyes narrowed. 

“I do not know that. I only guess that she’s better at judging characters than someone who invented a whole life for himself.”

Not Strife’s weak point; it did not make him twitch. “Whatever. If you keep bothering us, Shinra is going down.”

“Us? What ‘us’?” Rufus let out a short laugh. “You are the one who flees her at every whim. If she’s vulnerable as you say, it’s because of you.”

Strife clenched his fists, so Rufus knew he scored a hit. “You know nothing about us.”

“I have eyes.” Rufus stood up. “And you suspect me of cruelty, but you leave her in a limbo, while all you care about is a dead girl, the half-cetra.”

Strife flew forward. Before Rufus could touch the gun, Strife’s hand squeezed his neck. “Do not talk of her.”

“Truth.”

They stared into each other’s eyes, Strife’s hand making it difficult to breathe, yet he did not panic. “Kill me. She would love that.”

Strife let go off him, his face screwed like he was in pain. “You can not have her.”

“Perhaps not,” he conceded. “Yet it has nothing to do with you.”

“It will always have something to do with me if you hurt her, remember that!”

With this Strife all but ran at the door and slammed it behind him. 

Rufus massaged his painful neck and sat down to finish his wine; all in all it had been a fun evening. 

The next few days he worked as usual when there was sun, but spent far too much time at night staring at the list of parties. Where should he go to find out more? It would be best if he had his own party to celebrate, but the next two weeks were filled by those of other prominent people. 

Sometimes he missed the days when Shinra went before everything. 

On Thursday, Tseng demurred inside his office, so Rufus opened the palm of his hand. The man was so polite that he always needed to feel permitted when he wanted to advise something. 

“Yes?”

“I’ve sent eyes and ears around. Luvic’s ball is where most people will go.”

“Most…” Rufus tapped a pen against the list. “Meaning…?”

“The real elite will go to Frederique Brovier’s garden party.”

That’s what he had figured. “Good. RSVP.”

Tseng bowed slightly and left the room. Rufus browsed through the files he got on Brovier. Years ago she had been in a partnership with Shinra, handling transport of most of their traffic with Junon. 

His phone beeped, signifying he got a message. 

_I’ve been practicing every night. Do you know the date?_

He typed a reply, once more remembering the feeling of holding Tifa in his arm for a dance.


	12. Make Him Watch

The next few days he worked as usual when there was sun, but spent far too much time at night staring at the list of parties. Where should he go to find out more? It would be best if he had his own party to celebrate, but the next two weeks were filled by those of other prominent people.

Sometimes he missed the days when Shinra went before everything.

On Thursday, Tseng demurred inside his office, so Rufus opened the palm of his hand. The man was so polite that he always needed to feel permitted when he wanted to advise something.

“Yes?”

“I’ve sent eyes and ears around. Luvic’s ball is where most people will go.”

“Most…” Rufus tapped a pen against the list. “Meaning…?”

“The real elite will go to Frederique Brovier’s garden party.”

That’s what he had figured. “Good. RSVP.”

Tseng bowed slightly and left the room. Rufus called on the files he got on Brovier. Years ago he had been in a partnership with Shinra, handling transport of maco, amongst other goods.

His phone beeped, signifying he got a message.

I’ve been practicing every night. Do you know the date?

So, he replied, once more remembering the feeling of holding Tifa in his arm for a dance.

*

She walked with more ease in the dress. For the first time since Rufus had met her, the girl from the slums was hidden away almost completely. Or so it appeared. Tifa had taken his arm, but her gloved fingers dug into it a little too much.

“I left Marlene with Denzel and closed the bar.”

“You can steal food for your bar as I distract them,” he whispered, as they rode up the elevator.

The joke made her smile and, he hoped, relax.

A woman he knew well waited for them at the roof. Lady Frederique looked ageless in her white gown, despite having been born before his father. She offered her hand to him and he kissed it with effortless flourish.

“I would like to present Miss Lockhart to you.”

The woman gave her a winning smile. “Your heroism is legendary, young lady, as are your drinks.”

“Are they?” She looked surprised at Rufus. “Did you tell her?”

He nodded, though she had known well before. This lady knew everything about everyone.

With an elegance in her step, she led them to her garden. Tifa hid her surprise at the lack of flowers or anything ostentatious. It was all minimalist; lots of rock and few plants. The people walking amongst them wore clothes of the finest material, but all understated. Money had been in their family for too many generations to be worried about trivialities such as fashion.

“Shinra.” Maddews, an old crooy of his father gave him an ugly smirk and gestured at Tifa. “You’re honoring your victors now? How good of you.”

He smiled. Once such words would have secretly enraged him, but he cared little for the opinion of this creature.

Taking Tifa’s hand, Maddews nuzzled it. “How much is Shinra paying you to be here?”

“You’ve always retained the vulgarity of new money,” his sister Clara said. “Forgive him his brusqueness.”

Tifa nodded, but Rufus knew this little incident threw her off a bit.

“It’s good that we are here,” Rufus replied. “He would never dare address her like that anywhere else.”

“Why? Is she going to punch me?” The man snorted.

“Only that if you’re lucky,” Rufus replied, winking at Clara. “Would the ladies have a drink?”

Clara held up a glass. “I’m fine.”

“Well, excuse us,” he said and held out his hand for Tifa. “I would care for a refreshment.”

She nodded.

“Sorry for that,” he whispered as they approached the table with drinks. Two waiters stepped forward to serve them, but he held them off with an affable nod.

Tifa glanced behind her, only to see a man stare hard at another, after having exchanged the most pleasant of greetings. “Those people are awful.”

He poured her a glass of the finest mineral water. “Not all of them. Though they must seem that to you.”

“All this wealth, while people are dying of hunger below.”

She laid her hand on the edge of the roof and stared at the dark sky. It gave him a sudden inspiration.

“Once we have dealt with Scarlett and her ilk, I’ll set up a charity division within the company.”

This caught her attention. “You will?”

“Yes, but you will have to help me. I know little of the social aspects of projects like that. But from what I am aware of, one should proceed with caution.”

“So you want me as an advisor?”

“No, I want you to lead the division.”

Her eyes widened. “Me, lead? At Shinra?”

“You will have a seat at the table. Even at the most senior meetings.”

“Why?”

He laughed. “You’re wondering what I’m plotting now?”

And to his surprise, she laughed back. “You’ve gotten to know me rather well.”

“I have, haven’t I?” He lifted up his hand and tugged a few stray locks behind her ear.

She did not step back or made any other indication that his touch was unwelcome. So he dared a little more, caressed her cheek.

“Rufus?” Tifa swallowed.

“Yes?”

“I hope, really hope, you’re not playing a game with me.”

“I’m not.” He stepped closer and tilted her head.

Her eyes widened and she pushed him away as hard as she could. He fell back against the leaning. For a second he believed she had rejected him rather forcefully. Then he heard the first shot. Tifa ducked and covered her head.

People screamed. They saw one guard fall down, clutching a bloody neck. The helicopter had come out of nowhere, sound damped by the latest technology.

Rufus had his gun out, and fired twice. Both were hits, but they did not penetrate the glass.

Once more the helicopter fired at him, but Tifa was faster, protecting him with a spell. People ducked behind tables, each other, everything. The door swung open behind them and in streamed more men, all dressed in black and masked.

“The helicopter!” Tifa yelled at him.

“Bullets don’t get through!”

“They will!” Her hand pointed at his gun. “Just shoot!”

The moment the bullets left his gun, she used a blitz spell. The helicopter took hits to the wings and started cackling. They stopped firing, trying to regain control. Tifa jumped up, forgetting what she was wearing. Her dress stopped her from kicking and she lost her balance. Rufus steadied her by grabbing her hair. Tifa winced in pain, but did not fall.

A gun aimed at her. Rufus shot the man holding it between the eyes and helped her tear at her dress. She grabbed a piece of broken glass. She did not even notice that she cut her fingers by accident.

“Rufus!”

Running fast, a man took aim. Tifa turned, grabbed a chair and threw it. She set it on fire as it flew through the air. The man and a hapless guest jumped away. An older lady fell, breaking her hip. Lady Frederique had her gun also, and managed to shoot one in the neck. The lady knelt, and hid behind a pillar, before shooting another in the knee.

Tifa’s eyes widened. “She…”

“I’ll explain later.” Rufus smiled and ran to the side, shooting another in the chest.

The helicopter started twirling.

“Who are they after?” Frederique asked, as he reached her.

“Me, probably. I am sure they’re Heidegger’s.”

“There are more coming.” She sighed as if this was a minor annoyance. “Would you be so kind to lead them away from my party?”

He made a bow. “Your wish, my hand. Where is it?”

“Behind that rock,” she pointed. “Two should be fine.”

“I hope so.”

Frederique kept her gun pointed at the door. All their attackers were down or dead, but that did not mean they were safe. Some guests seemed just a little peeved, but others cowered or cried. Rufus was not surprised Maddews had folded in on himself and rocked back and forth. He had not been shot. 

“Excuse me,” Rufus said, passing the cowering Karl and Clara. He collected the package and gestured at Tifa. “Come.”

He jumped on the edge of the roof and opened the package.

“What are you doing?” She glanced back at the door. “Is that a…?”

“Yes, just hold tight.” He attached the parachute.

She smiled. “That’s how we got to Midgar in the end.”

“Did you? I’ll be sure to tell Tseng that.”

Tifa got up on the roof with him. “I’m not too crazy about it.”

“Really? I’d say you’re enjoying yourself very much. Missed being in the thick of it, have you?”

“I’ll never admit to that.” She held onto him. “What about those people?”

“They will leave them alone to chase us. Ready?”

“Go.”

He jumped, as the helicopter crashed below. Tifa gasped and held on tighter, burying her face in his shoulder. That alone made it one of the best jumps he had ever made.

That fleeting peace evaporated. Someone fired at them from below. Tifa reacted immediately, putting up a shield, only opening it whenever Rufus returned fire. She jumped off to the road just before he touched ground and protected him with it as he struggled to take off the parachute.

From then on it was running, attacking and defending. Minutes blurred into each other as they adjusted to each other’s movements. One defended the other as they attacked. Shields went up as he shot, and he kept her back safe as she beat, kicked and cast spells. Rufus was one of the best shots in the world, but he had never spent years fighting to survive as she had. Her kicks fluently turned to punches and evasions. It was like she combined the skills of cats, snakes and birds all at the same time.

Heidegger had seen fit to send more people than he had expected. Their unspoken goal was to lead them away from where people lived, and into the deserted office areas.

Fire rained on them from above, scorching her hair as they ran into an office. He hit out the flame, but saw she had lost a few inches of hair in places.

Suddenly it rained bullets, all coming from the top of the building they passed. A bullet grazed Rufus’s thumb and it started bleeding.

“It’s nothing!” he yelled, as Tifa opened her mouth.

Sweat ran down her cheeks as she held up a shield and he knew she ran out of strength to use magic.

“Inside?” she whispered.

“Come on.”

Her hand went into his, and they ran into the building. It had not been used for a few weeks and chairs stood to the side, waiting for a new owner. A shadow and Rufus shot the man just before he could aim at them.

Sirens sounded outside and he heard Reno on a large megaphone. “Boss, where are you?”

“Let’s get the ones upstairs ourselves. We need some to question,” he whispered at Tifa.

She nodded, and they silently made their way up stairs.

The nest of shooters aimed at Rude below. One turned around and let out his last scream as Rufus shot him. Before he could raise his gun again, he was punched in the gut. Collapsing in pain, he saw another grab Tifa from behind and throw her against the wall. Stunned, she held her head. Rufus tried to raise his gun, more concerned for her than himself, but it was kicked away and his shot ended in a window.

Tifa managed to raise herself. The hulk of a man who had thrown her, grinned.

“I’ll finish you, bitch.”

She held up her hand, trying to block his kick, but he got her against her thigh. Tumbling back, Rufus saw real fear in her eyes.

He elbowed the man before him, desperate to get to her. The brute glanced back, saw his face and understood more of his feelings than Tifa had so far. His grin grew deeper.

“Hold him.” He advanced on Tifa. “Make him watch.”

Rufus’s arms were grabbed by two men. One got hold of his bleeding thumb and pulled it back. He let out a hoarse cry.

Tifa’s dress was in shambles by now. Hunger shone in the eyes of the men. Rufus struggled, never having known this fear in his life. “Get out of here!”

She took him in, wiping away the hair from her bruised face and shook her head. Her eyes looked glazed over and he realized she must have gone past her limits.

The man on his left squeezed him so hard that he lost a few breaths, but it did not stop Rufus from trying to save her. “Remember who I am, what Shinra did to you! You’d risk your life for someone like that?”

The man advanced of her, stretched out his hand, grabbing what was left of the fabric.

“Yes,” she said and a smile appeared on her face. “Because we are the heroes.”

She sunk down and for a moment Rufus believed she had simply collapsed. The man leaned down, glorifying in what he would do to her.

Two feet went over his shoulders, Tifa took his head in a pincer movement and twisted. His neck broke, while the lecherous smile was still on his face. She somersaulted, her hand landing on Rufus’s gun.

Rufus kicked the man to his left against the side of his knee. Half loose now, he caught the gun and shot through the other’s side.

Checking the two survivors for weapons, Tifa took a deep breath. “I have to get used to this again.”

“For a moment…”

She looked at him with her big eyes. “Yes?”

“You did very well,” Rufus told her.

“Maybe you should hire me as a Turk then?”

“You want that?”

“No way.”

They both laughed, ignoring the moaning men on the floor. Encouraged, he went over and put his hand on her shoulder. “Sorry about the hair.”

“It’s fine, needed a haircut anyway.”

They both grew quiet. Once more he leaned in, badly wanting that closness with her now.

“President!” Elena ran in. “You’re safe!”

“I am, yes.” He suppressed a sigh. “Would you and Rude be so kind to take care of this?”

“Of course.”

Reno got in from the window. “President. All clear, but we got a hellova mess with the police force.”

“Don’t I pay them enough?” Rufus asked.

Tifa frowned. “You pay them?”

Annoyed at himself for letting that slip, he realized he was more tired than he had realized. “Just donations from time to time.”

She looked a little put off, but allowed him to walk her out. “I bet you have a lot to take care of.”

“Yes. Reno will give you a ride home, but I’d like to talk to you tomorrow.”

“Don’t torture them.”

“Shinra doesn’t do that anymore.”

Just as it started to rain, he held the door for her.

“Thank you for protecting me,” he said, taking her hand.

She met his gaze. “And you.”

It took a while before they let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time:  
> When Rufus finds out that Tifa's bar is attacked, he can no longer control himself.


	13. Make Love

“Don’t torture them.”

“Shinra doesn’t do that anymore.”

“Thank you for protecting me,” Rufus said, taking Tifa’s hand.

She met his gaze. “And you.”

It took a while before they let go.

A drop fell on his light hair and he hurried to the car. Once more, Rufus turned back, but she had already disappeared in the dark.

Tseng drove him back to his office. Rufus was on the phone from the moment he got into the car and still was as he took the elevator to his office. Only when he sat down behind his desk, did he hang up.

It took more money than when he had been head of Shinra to keep the authorities from interfering. The echo of his father’s corruption did not please him, but he felt he had little choice. After staring at the window for minutes, he got up again. To shake his tension, Rufus took the elevator down. Lady Frederique’s guard had captured four attackers and transferred them to him. Shinra still had the reputation of being able to break someone. 

Three men and a woman, all unmasked now, lingered in in separate cells. Two guards dragged out the youngest one first; a lad of only sixteen. Rufus watched Tseng interrogate him from behind a double sided mirror. Well, interrogate was not the right word. Tseng merely looked at him for minutes on end. His face showed no expression, apart from the occasional terrifying smile.

As the boy babbled about anything he could think of, Reno entered the room.

“Yes? You brought her home?”

“I did, but…”

Rufus turned away from the one-way mirror. “Nothing happened?”

“She’s fine, but they trashed her place.”

“Trashed?”

Reno sighed. “Broke the windows, the bottles. Glass everywhere. And they also did a number on the furniture and walls.”

“She’s alone?”

“Yeah, shall I drive back and get her?”

“She won’t come.” Rufus gave a last look at Tseng and the frightened youngster. “I’ll go myself.”

“Sir, I have to insist on accompanying you. You are a target and…”

“Do you think they are prepared for a second attack after this?” Rufus asked, as he made his way back to the elevator.

Reno shrugged. “Who knows?”

“Fine, drive me, but I’ll go in alone.”

It hadn’t rained this hard in a long time, so Reno had to drive slower than usual. From time to time, Rufus rubbed his elbow. The fight and mad chase had left his muscles aching. Still, he felt far from sleepy and could barely contain his impatience. Water dripped on the windows, but he did not curse the rain. Without it they would probably have set fire to her bar.

When they slowed, he saw immediately that the front door had been smashed.

“Shall I come with you?”

“Stay here.”

Rufus stepped into the rain. The window was broken, so rain must have been coming in for a while now. He pushed the door open quietly. Reno had not exaggerated the mess. Alcohol had splashed everywhere and stained the carpet and walls. In the middle of all that mess, knelt Tifa.

She was picking up the larger pieces of glass, and threw them in a plastic box. Her hair was in a messy bun, held up by a rusted hairclip. No longer did she wear her torn dress, but only a white T-shirt that was too long for her. Despite her poor clothes, the mess, the burnt hair and the bruises, Rufus desired her as he never had any other. It was something he could not hold back much longer, regardless of the situation.

“They will pay for this.” He said, making Tifa look up at him. “I swear they will.”

“I’ve lost everything.”

“You will reopen the bar and prosper again.”

She shook her head. “All my money was in that alcohol. I have nothing to set it back up. I can’t even pay my electricity bill now. There will be no money even to feed the children, or a place to teach them.”

Rufus looked down on her. “Silly woman.”

“I know.” Her voice broke. “I took a gamble by buying in like that. But there would have been no income if I hadn’t…”

He put a finger on her lips. “You misunderstood me. That’s not why I called you silly.”

“Then why?”

“There is no way that, while I’m alive, you shall ever have to want for anything.”

She took a deep breath. “It’s true then?”

“What is?”

Her hand came to rest on his side. “I started to think that…you...”

He pulled her closer and traced his lips over her neck. “It’s true.”

A shiver ran through her.

“Tifa,” he whispered. “If you’ll let me, I’ll make you feel like you never have before.”

For moments she held onto him, thinking. Perhaps a battle was waging inside her mind, as there had been one in his. He waited patiently, and tugged back a strand of brown hair. Tifa looked up, surprised at his tenderness.

Rufus stepped closer, turning his head a little, his nose brushing past her hair.

“Will you let me?”

Those big, sad eyes were almost too much, but he kept his face passive until she finally, nodded her assent.

The floodgates burst open. His lips were on her neck, tracing down until he sucked the skin at her collarbone. She let out a moan that made him smile. His fingers travelled over the small of her spine, heating the skin. Her body arched, but he did not yet give in to the temptation of her breasts.

Instead he shook off his jacket and let her unbutton his shirt. He smiled down at her as she did so and then kissed her behind her ear. “Come.”

Hand resting on the small of her back, he followed her to the room at the back of the bar, to that small place where she slept. Only a bed and a simple cupboard stood in the room. An old carpet lay on the floor. The room had been ignored by the vandals, only interested in slamming up her livelihood. Here, he could take off his shoes without having to fear the glass.

He lifted up her shirt, tracing the area around her bellybutton until she breathed faster than she had during the chase. Her black underwear was laced, but left enough uncovered for him to enjoy the view. Like him, she had a few bruises. Her hair sprawled down when he took off her hairclip.

Even through her bra, he could see that her nipples turned hard. When he caressed them through the fabric, her eyes closed.

“Rufus,” she whispered.

“Can I take it off?” he asked.

“Please.”

He unhooked her bra, but shy suddenly, she put her hands on it before he could remove it.

To encourage her, he took of his own pants and slid his underwear down. Naked and erect, he stood in front of her. Displaying not the least bit of insecurity, he offered himself to her. She wanted to look at him, while at the same time being too embarrassed. 

Rufus sauntered over to the light switch and turned it off. His hand rested on her bra again, but he did not pull at it.

“If you want to stop, we’ll stop.”

She swallowed, made a decision. The bra dropped to the floor.

A woman with breasts like Tifa, must have had her fair share of unwanted attention for them. Instead of grabbing them, Rufus cupped both breasts. His thumbs stroking over them, he treated them with great care. Some of the tension left her body and she leaned in to his touch.

“You’re a very beautiful woman,” he said quietly. “But that’s not the only reason I desire you.”

“No?”

He stepped closer, kissing her for the first time. Her lips parted and he slid in his tongue. Having Tifa in his arms, after all that time of longing for her, turned Rufus on beyond words. She only wore underwear by now and he loved the soft feel of her body pressing against his own.

His hand moved down her back, fingers slipping under the fabric. She moaned into the kiss as he caressed the soft skin of her ass.

Leaving little kisses on her face and neck, Rufus guided her towards the bed.

She sat on the mattress and lay back, but her whole body had tensed up again. It made him wonder what kind of bad experiences she had had with sex before. Strife descending on her and doing nothing but rut on her a few times? Quickly, he banished that image from his thoughts. 

So he took it slow, using his mouth and fingers to caress and suck, slowly heating her up further. Little moans left her as he licked her nipples, teasing them with his tongue.

She spread her legs so he settled between them. Questioningly, he rubbed his finger over the fabric of her panties.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Rufus.”

He took his time sliding them off her legs, kissing the inside of her thighs. Throwing it over his shoulder, he admired her naked body by the city lights that came in from outside.

“I’ve wanted you for a long time. You know that, don’t you?” he asked.

Before she could answer, he licked the skin of her inner thigh once more, going up. Her body heaved by the time he reached her most intimate spot.

Tifa squirmed when he entered her with his tongue. Her hands squeezed the sheets and she trashed her head back and forth.

“Ah!”

He held her legs in place with his hands and continued, shoving his tongue in and outside of her. Her moans grew louder, louder than they had ever been, he guessed. And that idea aroused him to no end.

Tifa almost arched of the bed, orgasm hitting her in waves. She fell back, trembling and momentarily robbed of coherent thought. Panting, at a loss for breath, she lay there.

He covered her body with his own, enjoying the heat she radiated. It would be so easy to just enter her, but he wanted to wait for her clear consent. If he did anything against her will, all that tentative trust that had grown between them would evaporate.

“Can I?” he whispered, voice hoarse with need.

She spread her legs further and nodded.

The last bit of control slipped and Rufus thrust inside her.

She was wet and hot around him, and so tight that he could not bear it. A rare curse left his lips and he moved again, wanting more already.

She grunted, making him catch her gaze. “You okay?”

Those brown eyes looked up at him. “I’m… fine.”

But he knew it might hurt at least a little, so he forced himself to start slow. It was hard, since it felt too good. But he only gave in to his deepest urges, when he saw her gasp in bliss.

Her arms and legs came around him, and she began to move with his rhythm. He removed her singed hair from her face, wanting to look her in the eyes. She looked back, biting her own lip at another hard thrust.

Rufus loved the softness of her breasts against his chest and the way her body welcomed his.

“It feels…” she moaned again. “You’re…!”

She could not seem to form a coherent sentence. Rufus caught her lips in a sloppy kiss. Ever closer to climax, he closed his eyes, but kept moving.

When he spilled inside her, he grunted and collapsed on top of her.

Tifa hesitated, but then caressed his back as he tried to catch his breath. He was still inside her, and even the littlest movement stirred him again. So he pulled out off her and lay on his back, still panting.

“What a day.”

“Yes,” she agreed, but she shifted already, itching away from him.

That was not what he wanted, so he put his arm around her and pulled her close. “You don’t regret it, do you?”

She turned to face him. “Maybe you’ll laugh, but I never thought… I thought I would only be with someone if we were serious. But I know you… to you I’m just a…well, I’m a street rat, right? Women from the same background are…”

“I did not know you could ramble on like that,” he cut in. “And you clearly haven’t been paying attention.”

“To what?” she asked, confused.

“Since you first smiled at me, I have become rather helpless against you.”

She looked more surprised than he had ever seen her. “You mean you want us to be together?”

“Something like that, yes.” He leaned over and placed his lips on her own. Allowing him to slide in his tongue, she kissed back. It was a longer kiss than any of the others and they both took the opportunity to explore each other and each other’s needs.

Stirred up, he moved on top of her again, getting harder by the second. He slid inside her easier than the first time.

When dawn set in, they fell back into the sheets utterly exhausted.

Tifa rested her face on his chest. “I’ve never felt like this.”

“I know.”

Her frown made him laugh. “Well, I know I am good at pleasing a woman.”

“Arrogant bastard.”

“Riff-raff.”

They smiled at each other, until hers faded and made way for a frown. “It’s madness.”

“Our whole life has been mad.”

A nod.

“Come rest at my place. I’ll have them clean the bar and ready to open by this evening.”

“I can not ask that.”

“That’s why I offer. You deserve at least that much after accompanying me to that boring party.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very long wait!


	14. Morning

Her dark hair was splayed around on his white pillow. Rufus touched a lock as she slept. Daylight came in through the window, but it did not seem to disturb her rest. Tifa had slept under much less comfortable circumstances and a bit of sunlight did not wake her. He found himself wondering what her life would have been like if Shinra had not existed.

Perhaps she would be a mountain guide, taking care of injured animals and making sure people did not start forest fires. There would not be that suspicion in her, not that fear of being hurt. She would still be able to giving birth, perhaps have a child already.

His education and childhood experiences had taught him to feel contempt for ‘the normal people’. Yet, this extraordinary woman was one of them and had shown him the foolishness of his thoughts. Having been that prejudiced was not all on his father, but on himself as well.

Since most of her clothes had been destroyed, he had lent her one of his shirts, having been careful to not give her one with the Shinra logo on it. He wore nothing but his boxers himself. It was a bit chilly, so he pulled the blanket over them and spooned her from behind.

“Rufus.”

“You’re awake?” he asked.

“Just the last minute or so.”

Rufus waited for her to continue.

“You were thinking about something?” Tifa asked quietly.

“About what our lives would have been like.”

“If Shinra had been a regular company?”

“Or had not existed at all,” he whispered.

“I can’t imagine you not being rich though.”

He chuckled. “Neither can I.”

“We would never have met.”

“Maybe. Or perhaps they would have sent me to the countryside each summer, to tame my unruly behaviour.”

“I was always in the mountains then,” she said.

“And that’s where I would have found you.” He caressed her cheek. “I would have lost my bodyguards, looking for something new. After staying in the mountains for a few hours, I would get thirsty and look for a lake. Just as I bowed down to drink, I saw this beautiful maiden.”

Tifa settled into his arms, enjoying the fantasy. “And then?”

“Dark hair, big eyes, wearing a soft flowing dress. Holding a basket with fruit, you would offer me one. Not afraid, not for a moment.”

“How dramatic.”

“Literature was part of my curriculum.” He smiled. “I was rather good at it.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Rufus realized she was poking fun at him. He couldn’t remember anyone having done that, unless it was meant maliciously.

“Cheeky.”

“Sorry,” she said, being anything but. “Did you ever plan to develop your literary skills further?”

“I might have. I was fond of the subject. Another: what if.”

“Yes.” Tifa shifted a bit. “How does it end?”

“You would lead me back to the little village, disappearing before I could ask your name. Yet, I would find you again the year after. You would have taken me to a waterfall and make love to you at the foot of the lake.”

Tifa said nothing for a good while. “I like it.”

“Good.”

She sat up. “I need to go back to my bar. I called Marlene and Denzel. They are fine, but neighbours will be worried.”

“No need. I have people cleaning everything.”

“What? But…”

“You got dragged into this because of me. They took their revenge on you, because I am too well protected.”

“I was investigating anyway, remember?”

“Yes, but a large part of this is about Shinra. Scarlet wants the contents of Hojo’s old laboratories and Heidegger wants to take her father’s place.”

“We are still not sure how the missing women fit into this.”

“Yet you have a theory?” he asked.

“Laboratories and Scarlet having been transformed into something superhuman all point towards experiments. I think they needed guinea pigs for something, regardless of gender. Yet it is easy to explain away the disappearance of sex workers as the acts of a serial killer, so they went after them,” Tifa said, her face darkening. “And people tend not to care about them much in general.”

“If you accept setting up a charity division, perhaps they can have your attention,” he said, as an aside.

She nodded earnestly.

Rufus thought for a moment, about everything she had said. It was quite near what he had concluded himself. “They have people working for them that worked for Heidegger and Scarlet in the Shinra company. My father allowed them to have their own power bases, and they now use those old contacts to their advantage.”

“Yes, and…” She suddenly gave him a sharp look. “You were talking about laboratories. What is in them?”

“Classified,” he said automatically.

“Classified?” she repeated. “So, it’s dangerous. Why have they not been destroyed?”

“Because…”

Tifa glared at him. For a moment, he hesitated. She was Avalanche, he Shinra. But he knew it would not be wise to hide too much. They needed to work together to end Scarlet and Heidegger’s machinations.

“Some of those creatures are still alive.”

She let out a shocked sound. “They are still being experimented upon?”

“No. We try to find cures for their ailments. Some were bred not to be able to abide daylight, for instance. Others need machines to be fed.”

Shifting away from him, sorrow filled her face. “That’s horrible.”

“It is.”

“Then, why…what kind of life…”

“Some have been healed,” he said. “They live on an island that is not on the map.”

Tifa sighed, seeming tired despite the sleep. 

Rufus waited. It was quite possible she would leave now.

“You truly keep them for that reason only?”

“No.”

She frowned, but he stood up from the bed and turned his back on her to get some water.

“I do it for redemption.”

It was quiet for a while. She did not offer solace or encouragement, but neither did she reproach him.

“I’m going back to the bar,” she said, and he knew that was final. “Thank you for having it cleaned.”

“Like I said, of no concern.”

“I will talk to my friends, about what we have learned. We need to prepare.”

Rufus nodded. Privately, he would have preferred to sort all of it with his people and Tifa only. Yet he knew that was not how she worked. A few shared skirmishes with the enemy was no match for the bond she had with the friends she had saved this planet with.

“If I find out more, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks.” She put on her shoes and walked out of his room.

Rufus sighed. He had no idea where they stood. Perhaps she would soon view this night as a mistake and avoid him from now on. It was ridiculous how he hated this possibility. To only have her once, and never feel him against him again, was a painful prospect.

Yet, he couldn’t think about it too long. He had responsibilities that should far outweigh his personal inclinations. He stifled a yawn and got up, ready for another tiring day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really glad to hear a remake of this marvelous game is being made.


End file.
